Aussie pet owners could be forced to upgrade homes

Homeowners in one Aussie state may be forced to spend thousands of dollars on cat containment if new laws are passed next year.

Western Australia is in the process of amending the Cat Act 2011 to give local councils sweeping new powers to enforce cat containment across the state.

The new powers would cover a range of enforcement issues, including the ability to fine cat owners whose feline friends stray too far from home.

WA Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said councils had been calling for changes to cat containment regulations for more than a decade.

“(The act) provides local governments with important tools to manage cats, including prohibiting them from specific public places, addressing nuisance behaviour, and enforcing sterilisation, microchipping and registration,” she said.

“If passed, the reforms will provide a framework for local laws which promote responsible cat ownership including cat containment — empowering individual councils to engage with their communities on these issues.”

The cat containment issue in WA was forced back into the spotlight after the City of Bayswater in Perth tried to introduce laws allowing council officers to fine owners whose cats were found too far from home.

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The move, however, was rejected by the WA parliament on the grounds such actions would go beyond the powers of the Cat Act 2011.

WA opposition local government spokeswoman Kirrilee Warr said the parliamentary rejection was the 27th time a local council had tried to take action against irresponsible cat owners and been denied by parliamentary procedure.

“This Government has continued to flip flop on local government matters, creating uncertainty instead of solutions,” Ms Warr said.

“The minister herself acknowledged at last year’s Local Government Conference that the Cat Act required amending, yet the government has delayed action for years and is only acting now as an attempt to save face following negotiations on supporting the disallowance.

“This is the 27th time a local government’s attempt to implement cat containment laws has been blocked. Councils still lack the tools they need. The law must be fixed so councils can act now, protect wildlife, and meet community expectations, not wait until 2026.”

WHAT DOES IT COST TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR CAT?

The cost to modify Australian houses to accommodate pet cats can vary from DIY netting at a couple of hundred dollars to large custom enclosures which could cost upwards of $4500.

Sydney woman Susie Hall said on Facebook she paid $2500 for an enclosure that was just 3m x 1.5m for her cat, which she considered reasonable.

“This included installation of the door and a tunnel to the catio. Super happy,” she said.

“I don’t have handy person skills but really needed an outdoor space for a cat moving into an apartment for the first time. It took a while for him to accept it and learn how to use the cat flap but he loves it now.

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“It alleviated my fear that he wouldn’t realise we were one floor up and leap over the balcony in pursuit of a bird.

“A fair price to pay for him to get some sun and me to have peace of mind.”

But another Australian woman didn’t have the same experience: “I was initially quoted $5600 for 8mx3m but got it reduced down to $4300 with less aluminium posts, less materials/cost,” a user responded.

“It took a day and a half. Labour was $264p/h for subcontractor. I was expecting to have to pay $4K.”

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WHY DOES CAT CONTAINMENT MATTER

A University of Sydney study claims each roaming pet cat kills an average of 186 reptiles, birds and mammals per year.

The 2020 report compiled the results of 66 different studies on pet cats to determine the impact domesticated felines have on Australia’s native environment.

The report’s data showed a death rate of 4440 to 8100 animals per square kilometre per year in areas inhabited by pet cats.

In Australia, 1.1 million pet cats are contained 24 hours a day by responsible pet owners but the remaining 2.7 million pet cats (71 per cent) are able to roam and hunt.

The study said cats had played a leading role in most of Australia’s 34 mammal extinctions since colonisation in 1788.

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